KC Royals: 1 biggest surprise, 1 biggest disappointment from starting lineup
The KC Royals are off to a hot start in 2021 and the starting lineup has played a big part in that. This was a unit with some new faces but they’re gelling together well.
Kansas City Royals fans definitely didn’t anticipate the team having the best record in the league nearly a month into the season but that’s exactly what we’re looking at. The team is firing on all cylinders and the starting lineup is hitting the ball pretty well.
The Royals added some new players to try and lift the boys in blue back to the postseason and those signings have been helpful. One of them is the starting lineup’s biggest surprise through the first month of the season.
Michael A. Taylor is the biggest surprise from the KC Royals’ starting lineup.
When the Royals inked Michael A. Taylor to a one-year deal, the consensus seemed to be that he was a tremendous defender but wouldn’t be all that effective at the plate. He’s been fantastic in both facets early on, currently sporting a .270 batting average through 74 at-bats.
Taylor started the season off scorching hot and while yes, he’s come back down to earth, he’s still doing well offensively. He’s hit two home runs, plated seven RBI, and stolen three bases while also playing stout defense.
I remember listening to 610 Sports Radio shortly before the 2021 season began and Carrington Harrison was making fun of the Taylor signing. To be fair, Carrington wasn’t far off with what he was saying, as Taylor’s highest batting average was .271 back in 2017. Otherwise, he hasn’t been a great hitter in the big leagues.
By the end of the season, Taylor might be fully back down to earth, but as of now, he’s the Royals’ biggest surprise out of the starting rotation for sure.
Hunter Dozier is the biggest disappointment from the KC Royals’ starting lineup.
The starting lineup has only been pretty good so the disappointing choice was much more difficult. I went with Hunter Dozier because after signing an extension with the team over the offseason, it’s okay to admit that we were all expecting him to be doing more right now.
Dozier is slashing .138/.200/.277 with two home runs and eight RBI through 65 at-bats. It’s funny because he’s hit the same amount of home runs as Taylor and actually has more RBI than the outfielder, but Dozier’s average is rough. Dozier did experience a thumb injury early in the season though so he could still be battling back from that.
A note on Royals 3B Hunter Dozier: His hard-hit rate right now (42.9 percent) is the highest of his career. And his BABIP (.150) is the lowest of his career. Can't overreact to this start. A lot of unluckiness.
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) April 27, 2021
Alec Lewis of The Athletic also tweeted that Dozier has been quite unlucky to start the season. Dozier struggled in 2019 after missing the start of the season due to COVID-19 and hopefully he can get back to 2018 form. Fans shouldn’t necessarily be worried about Dozier, but he’s definitely been disappointing a month into the 2021 season.
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What do you think, Royals fans? Who has surprised you and disappointed you from the starting lineup?